It’s Time to Protest

Right then, done and dusted. Everton finally put us out of our misery and our season came to an end with inevitable disappointment. 4-0 at Anfield followed up by another last minute goal conceded at Wembley. If that was the “defining week” that Roberto Martinez spoke of, then the definition has been one of abject failure. After this week it’s fair to say that the ‘Martinez In’ camp finally emptied. A plummeting overall win percentage, no win and 60 days, oh and don’t forget him not going to clap that travelling Evertonians at Wembley who had made the journey and only got to see their side play football for 30 minutes, all make it crystal clear that time is up for Martinez. The season may be over for the players, the staff and the manager but it isn’t for the fans. After a year or so of a frustrating health issue for me it’s looking more and more likely that my first game back at Goodison will be one of my most important, as it will be for everyone in attendance against Bournemouth on Saturday.

While there appear to be countless ‘In the know’ accounts stating that Martinez has been sacked, strangely the major (and usually correct) accounts are all in the dark about it. I really do hope this article is utterly irrelevant and unnecessary and today is actually the day that we’re all constantly refreshing twitter for, but I can’t see it. Quotes from Bill Kenwright recently seem to suggest he has every intention to remain loyal to Martinez. From an unprompted “what a manager” after the quarter final against Chelsea, right up to the video of him referring to Martinez as “the most wonderful man you could ever meet” after the semi-final defeat. Farhad Moshiri has taken the opposite approach and seems to be keeping his cards to his chest, a far more sensible tactic to that of Kenwright in my opinion. The truth is that we don’t know if there’s much difference to what the owners say, or don’t say, in public and what they say in private, the only thing we can do as a fanbase is to make our voice heard and hope it hammers the message home.

If Martinez is still in charge come Saturday then the Goodison crowd need to make their feelings known. It’s all well and good for Evertonians to sit on twitter and moan, me included, and we do it because it’s easy. Yes the endless retweeting and #MartinezOut have helped build the pressure, but they have now reached the limits of their effect. The time for apathy is done as well, the silence at Goodison was deafening for a while but from now all it will reflect is acceptance. The next step is a protest before, during or after the game. Any shouts of “BUT THAT’S KOPITE BEHAVIOR” need to do one, well it didn’t do too badly for them lot did it? People have already taken that step as banners have begun to surface in recent weeks (well done to those people by the way, takes a lot to be the first person to do that) but a sweeping, coordinated fan protest is needed now. Personally, I am not in favour of an absolute boycott as it could quite easily be played off as our season is finished, plus there is no visible evidence of fan unrest. Whether it is a delayed entrance & walkout (some already suggesting in at 18 and out on 78) or white hankies as they do in Spain, there needs to be something and it needs to be unified. The big names in Everton social media need to be part of the same discussion, it cannot become fragmented or it won’t work. The likes of ‘Everton Aren’t We?’, ‘Grand Old Team’ and ‘Toffee TV’ need to be sharing the same ideas and discussions to reach as many people as possible. Whatever it is that people are in favour of, I implore you to use the comments section (whether it be on Facebook or twitter) to put forward your ideas.

Our club is sleepwalking into a serious regression before our eyes, it needs to be stopped. It is all well and good for Aston Villa fans walking out on 78 minutes two weeks before their relegation is confirmed but that really needed to happen two years ago to save their club. Make no mistake, if Everton carry on this concerning trajectory then they need look no further than Villa to see their future. The fans still have power at Everton, after all how many times have we heard that the Goodison crowd are to blame for the poor home form? That power needs to be seen and heard in full force on Saturday. In the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter at all to the manager if Everton fall on hard times, it doesn’t matter to the coaches and it doesn’t matter to the players. It matters to us. If there was a time to show just how much Everton matters to you, it’s now Blues.